elmer fudd
Contributor
For me freediving means snorkeling with depths of about 30' max and being underwater for maybe 60 seconds at a time. I don't have any specialized gear though. I just use the same O'Neal J-suit and F1 fins I use for scuba.
I like it for a number of reasons. First, I can do it with my daughter who's still too young for scuba. I just stay in shallow and mostly on the surface for that, but it gets her used to being in a wetsuit, clearing her mask, wearing a weightbelt and other skills that she'll need later on. Second, you're much, much faster, sleeker and more graceful in the water when you're not encumbered with tanks, bc, lights, and all the rest. Third, there's nothing really to clean up when you're done.
I really think that all cold water divers should free dive a little from time to time. With all the stuff we need to stay warm and illuminate things, we tend to get carried away with gear and turn into lumbering Christmas trees that can barely move either above or below water. Free diving really drives home the fact that, that's not the way it should be. That it's much nicer to be sleek and nimble than an underwater dive shop with six forms of redundancy.
Still, one thing I do keep in mind about free diving. I think it is MUCH more dangerous than normal recreational scuba dives. The way I see it, on scuba, I've got about 1 hours air on my back and my buddy has the same. If I get into trouble underwater, that gives me a very good chance to extricate myself from it. If I'm freediving and that happens then I've only got seconds to do the same thing.
I like it for a number of reasons. First, I can do it with my daughter who's still too young for scuba. I just stay in shallow and mostly on the surface for that, but it gets her used to being in a wetsuit, clearing her mask, wearing a weightbelt and other skills that she'll need later on. Second, you're much, much faster, sleeker and more graceful in the water when you're not encumbered with tanks, bc, lights, and all the rest. Third, there's nothing really to clean up when you're done.
I really think that all cold water divers should free dive a little from time to time. With all the stuff we need to stay warm and illuminate things, we tend to get carried away with gear and turn into lumbering Christmas trees that can barely move either above or below water. Free diving really drives home the fact that, that's not the way it should be. That it's much nicer to be sleek and nimble than an underwater dive shop with six forms of redundancy.
Still, one thing I do keep in mind about free diving. I think it is MUCH more dangerous than normal recreational scuba dives. The way I see it, on scuba, I've got about 1 hours air on my back and my buddy has the same. If I get into trouble underwater, that gives me a very good chance to extricate myself from it. If I'm freediving and that happens then I've only got seconds to do the same thing.
